FORGOTTEN SUNNAH; EXCESSIVE EATING... The consumption of small amounts of food guarantees tenderness of the heart, strength of the intellect, humility of the self, weakness of desires, and gentleness of temperament. Immoderate eating brings about the opposite of these praiseworthy qualities. Al-Miqdam ibn Mad Yakrib said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: The son of Adam fills no vessel more displeasing to Allah than his stomach. A few morsels should be enough for him to preserve his strength. If he must fill it, then he should allow a third for his food, a third for his drink and leave a third empty for easy breathing. (Sahih, Ahmad, al-Musnad, 4/132; as-Saati, al-Fath ar-Rabbani, 17/88; at-Tirmidhi, Kitab az-Zuhud, 7/51) Excessive eating induces many kinds of harm. It makes the body incline towards disobedience to Allah and makes worship and obedience seem laborious-such evils are bad enough in themselves. A full stomach and excessive eating have caused many a wrong action and inhibited much worship. Whoever safeguards against the evils of overfilling his stomach has prevented great evil. It is easier for shaytan to control a person who has filled his stomach with food and drink, which is why it has often been said: Restrict the pathways of shaytan by fasting. (mentioned in al-Ghazzalis al-Ihya, 8/1488) It has been reported that when a group of young men from the Tribe of Israel were worshipping, and it was time for them to break their fast, a man stood up and said: Do not eat too much, otherwise you will drink too much, and then you will end up sleeping too much, and then you will lose too much. The Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, used to go hungry quite frequently. Although this was often due to a shortage of food, Allah decreed the best and most favorable conditions for His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is why Ibn Umar and his father before him-in spite of the abundance of food available to them-modelled their eating habits on those of the Prophet (peace be upon him). It has been reported that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: From the time of their arrival in Madina up until his death (peace be upon him), the family of Muhammed (peace be upon him) never ate their fill of bread made from wheat three nights in a row. (Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Atima, 9/549; and Muslim, Kitab az-Zuhud, 8/105) Ibrahim ibn Adham said: Any one who controls his stomach is in control of his religion, and anyone who controls his hunger is in control of good behavior. Disobedience towards Allah is nearest to a person who is satiated with a full stomach, and furthest away from a person who is hungry. THE BREAKFAST OF OUR BELOVED PROPHET (peace be upon him)... Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says: whoever starts his day by eating seven dates in the morning, he will be safe against poisons and magic. The breakfast of our beloved was medically wonderful; he (peace be upon him) used to take seven semi-dried dates soaked in milk. Scientific studies prove that dates have many medical benefits; among these is that it detoxifies the body from internal toxicants. People who work in mines and workers working in chemicals are always vulnerable to suffer from the rise of toxicants in their blood. There is a certain enzyme in the human body which rises when the there is an increase in toxicants in blood. In an experiment conducted on people suffering from high poisoning, it has been found that the rate of the enzyme connected with poisoning was reduced to the normal range if they are given seven dates for a month and if the diseased persons kept taking seven dates a day for an entire year, the rise in the liver enzymes will not happen again. THE PROPHET’S GUIDANCE REGARDING EATING: 1) The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to know what he was eating. 2) He used to eat what was good for him. 3) He used to eat enough to keep him going, but no so much as to make him fat. Ibn ’Umar related that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The believer eats in one stomach whilst the disbeliever eats in seven.” (Bukhari (no. 5081) and Muslim (no. 2060). 4) He taught his Ummah something to protect them from diseases caused by eating and drinking. He said, “The son of Aadam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Aadam to eat a few mouthfuls, to keep him going. If he must do that (fill his stomach), then let him fill one third with food, one third with drink and one third with air.” (Tirmidhi (no. 1381)and Ibn Maajah (no. 3349)
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 06:52:13 +0000
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